Miracle 1 Nativity
Preaching
Preaching the Miracles
Series II, Cycle A
1. Text
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this
way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.18 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.19 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the
child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.20 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 21
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by
the Lord through the prophet:22 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us."23
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,24 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.25
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
Mary finds she is with child from the Holy Spirit.
Second Point Of Action
Joseph plans to dismiss Mary quietly.
Third Point Of Action
An angel talks to Joseph in a dream.
Fourth Point Of Action
This fulfills the Isaiah 7:14 passage about a virgin conceiving and bearing a son to be named Emmanuel, "God with us."
Fifth Point Of Action
Joseph awakes and obeys the angel. He marries Mary but withholds marital relations until she bears the baby. Joseph names the baby Jesus.
3. Connecting Points - Conversations
Interviewing The Angel
Asker: Why did you come to Joseph rather than to Mary?
Angel: Had Joseph not understood, he could have turned the situation into chaos. We had to put this birth into perspective before we lost Joseph. Remember that the angel Gabriel appeared to the priest Zechariah when he and Elizabeth were to conceive.
First, I addressed Joseph as "son of David." Joseph and his kin had heard about the great--grandson of Ruth and Boaz all their lives. Stories about King David filled Old Testament history books and books of the prophets. Stories about this hero abounded. They ranged from Samuel's anointment of this youngest, shepherd son of Jesse to David and Jonathan's boyhood friendship and David's bravery with Goliath. Joseph and his family grew up with David's Psalms and still sang them. They followed King David through his adult life.
From the day Samuel anointed David, the spirit of the Lord came upon David. When Joseph remembered his ancestry, he would understand his heritage. When I told him that the child conceived in Mary was from the Holy Spirit, he would understand "God is with us." His thoughts about quietly dismissing Mary would vanish.
Asker: You gave Joseph many directions.
Angel: Clear guidance was God's way of being also with Joseph. As God's messenger, I would not desert Joseph. Neither would the angel Gabriel leave Mary until she understood this conception and birth.
Asker: Gabriel told Mary she would name the baby Jesus. You said Joseph would name him.
Angel: Matthew told the story from Joseph's viewpoint. Gabriel and I agreed about the name.
Asker: Why was he called Jesus when the name was Emmanuel?
Angel: Spelled with either an "E" or an "I," Emmanuel is a symbolic name from the Old Testament. It means "God is with us." Jesus is the personal name. Although this common name was not reserved for Jesus of Nazareth, it has a special meaning. The original Hebrew form of "Jesus" is Joshua or Yehoshuah, which means "Yahweh [or God] saves."1 Thus, I told Joseph that Jesus would save his people from their sins.
Interviewing Joseph
Asker: Joseph, you could have insisted that Mary be examined by the elders of your town.
Joseph: One would only do that in the absence of love. My concern was for Mary. You must understand that I did not doubt her. However this conception happened, her entire future rested on the outcome. If I pressed her father and if she were publicly disgraced as having committed adultery, her life would be over.
Asker: Your love was not truant.
Joseph: We were betrothed. We promised each other. Mary had not yet come into my household. That would happen with our wedding. We had not lived together yet, but we held the commitment of marriage.
Asker: Joseph, life is so different now where I live. Many couples try out marriage before their wedding. Have they no confidence in their ability to grow a marriage? Do they think only of avoiding divorce payments? Do they fear the commitment?
Joseph: The values are still the same somewhere in their hearts. People of my day did not face such illnesses as HIV and AIDS, but commitment was also scary for us. We did not live in an economy that demanded two incomes, brought constant mental and physical exhaustion, badgered with the false satisfaction of acquiring things, or excused the abandonment of relationships. But we had our turmoil. We also showed irresponsible behavior.
Asker: Sometimes I think few people grasp commitment.
Joseph: Becoming responsible is seldom the result of invitation. Acting responsibly can as readily be an accidental choice under pressure as a gracious decision. Remember, at first I planned to dismiss Mary quietly. From the time I learned that she was with child until after the angel dream, my commitment grew from practical action to feeling a new admiration for Mary.
Asker: Joseph, why did God choose you?
Joseph: Before I try to respond, I must speak of my choices. Jesus would be a newborn. He would be a little boy, a youngster, and then a youth. He would need an earthly father's guidance. I loved him because I love Mary. I loved him because I love God.
Asker: You were willing to take Jesus into your family and raise him as your own. As a pre--adoptive parent, I recall intensive screening before I was assessed as adequate to receive a child. How different and deliberate that was from the surprising, yet welcome, birth of our second child.
Joseph: Each way of becoming a parent - by birth or by adoption - holds a singular form of apprehension. You might say I was a foster parent or an adoptive parent. One named Paul, who lived years after I, saw us all as God's adopted children. God sends certain people into our lives to look after us. God did the same for Jesus. I wonder if that angel God sent were not screening me for fatherhood the entire time she was giving me instructions. As I lived out their consequences, I reached a fuller understanding of my earlier choices.
Interviewing Mary
Asker: Mary, what little we know about you is colored by Luke's telling and by our own imagination. In Matthew's version of the story you did not say a word.
Mary: That confirms that the writer was a man! The rendering was appropriate. Though Joseph and I shared our hearts, women of my day had few words except among those close to them. Elizabeth and I spoke many words to each other.
Asker: Women in other miracle stories spoke up. Look at the woman whose daughter was possessed by a demon.
Mary: Those women were involved in healing relationships with Jesus. I was in a different, precarious situation. My integrity was in question. I am one, however, who ponders. This was to be an unusual birth. In the silence, I reached understanding.
Asker: I need to ask aloud, at least to phrase the question. Do I need to believe in the virgin birth to be a Christian?
Mary: Miracles need a faithful leap. Sometimes we become lost among the words. You may know that in our translations "virgin" means a young woman of marriageable age or one who has not yet intimately known a man.
Asker: Then was this the way storytellers told us Jesus' birth was unique? What would you have us know, Mary, about you and this wonder--filled birth?
Mary: Some have said the issue of my virginity was dominant. Questions overshadowed everything before our conversations with the angels. Of course, Joseph and I puzzled. For the marriage customs of my time, it was important to establish that I had not been unfaithful to Joseph.
Asker: If Joseph were not the biological father, then someone had to be. Boys and girls know that.
Mary: Unless the conception were a miracle. Gabriel told me Jesus would be called the "Son of God." I keep hearing Gabriel's other words, "For nothing is impossible with God."
Asker: Did you feel used as a vehicle for the birth of Jesus?
Mary: When I visited Elizabeth, we compared notes. Gabriel, who stood in the presence of God, had told Zechariah that their son John also was to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If Elizabeth, barren for so many years, had not also conceived - well, that gave me courage. Truly, nothing is impossible with God. Though this was virgin territory for me, I was not in this wilderness alone. I was part of a greater plan. Acceptance brought tremendous relief. My soul burst into David's song. My soul magnified the Lord. My spirit rejoiced.
Asker: You relaxed and let it happen.
Mary: Joseph and I relaxed and let it happen. We raised Jesus as our son while knowing him to be God's Son.
Asker: Mary, why did God choose you to be the mother of this child?
Mary: I wonder if every mother asks God that. I do not know. I believe each parent is special. Each child is God's unique son or daughter. Every family is a holy family. God has plans for each of us.
Asker: Could you have turned down God?
Mary: I am convinced that is why God sent the angel to Joseph. Joseph would have offered more resistance than I. However, you raise an intriguing question. I wonder if another young woman had refused God. How many had God approached before finding me? Did God always have me in mind? When God has something in mind for us, no matter how many ways we try to avoid the message, we keep feeling the nudge until we respond. On the other hand, I believe also that God does not present an idea to us until we give some sign that we are ready.
Asker: Gabriel caused Zechariah to be mute until John's birth because Zechariah had doubted his words.
Mary: When I questioned Gabriel, he gave me no trouble. I did not want anything to prevent my marriage to Joseph. I could not guess how much my life would change. Gabriel kept talking until I understood and assented. He told me from the start not to be afraid. That helped me listen. Equally miraculous here was the timing of my readiness. You know how open, how full and creative a woman feels during her engagement. It is a healthy, highly productive time in her life. Her whole self is pregnant with possibility. She is ripe and fruitful. No wonder God chose this unusual birth of an unusual infant as the vehicle for new creation.
4. Words
Angel
Throughout Jesus' earthly life, God provided the guidance of angels. An angel appeared as a herald of special births. An angel heartened Mary while announcing the conception of the holy child (Luke 1:30ff). An interpreting angel stood before the shepherds the night of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:9ff). The angel appeared to Joseph in the first dream. It warned him of Herod's plan to kill Jesus. Later, it told Joseph to take the family to Egypt (Matthew 2:13). Later, an angel said Herod was dead and they should return to Israel (Matthew 2:19--20).
After the devil tempted Jesus, angels looked after him (Matthew 4:11). When Jesus prayed at the Mount of Olives, an angel strengthened him (Luke 22:43). When Jesus told the people it was time for the Son of Man to be glorified, some heard only thunder. Others said it was an angel (John 12:23ff). An angel was at the resurrection tomb (Matthew 28:2ff). For a fuller discussion of angels, see Cycle A, Miracle 4, "Resurrection."
Betrothal/Marriage
Except for residence in the bridegroom's home, betrothal equaled marriage. The bride used this year to collect her trousseau and property. The groom was exempt from military service for the year. (See Deuteronomy 20:7.)
In early Old Testament times, betrothal involved paying the bride's father a compensatory marriage gift and presenting gifts to the prospective bride. (See Genesis 34:12, 1 Samuel 18:25, Exodus 22:16--17, Exodus 34:12, and Ruth 4:5, 10.) The man made a declaration to the prospective bride, accompanied by a small gift, in the presence of two witnesses, or delivered to her a written declaration.
The marriage was complete after a marriage feast of joyous celebration. The couple could not live together as husband and wife until after this ceremony. They nevertheless were considered husband and wife from betrothal. The woman was regarded as a widow if her husband died. An engagement could be canceled after betrothal only by a letter of divorce and dowry payment. Hebrew law also provided for a refund with twenty percent interest if the betrothed virgin died before the consummation of marriage.
Birth
In Old Testament days, many births were desired because of the importance of large families. There was some understanding of the processes of conception and pregnancy, as well as birth. It was thought then that only the seed of the male was necessary in conception and gestation. The woman provided in her womb a holder for its protection and growth. Then, as now, the mystery of life at birth was a matter of awe and wonder: "Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother's womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything" (Ecclesiastes 11:5).
If the child were a boy, the mother was considered ceremonially unclean for seven days; but if the child were a girl, the mother was deemed unclean for fourteen days. Were the child a girl, the mother's cleansing process continued an additional 66 days. During this time, she could not touch any holy thing or come into the sanctuary. (See Leviticus 12:1--8.) Coincidentally, these days gave the new mother time by herself to recover from the pregnancy and birth and to focus on bonding with her infant. Compare this time set aside for mother/baby bonding with parenting/pregnancy leave in present society.
Compare Joseph's role in the birthing process with the father's presence and participation in today's birthing rooms. In Old Testament times, a child was born literally to the father, who received the child on his knees: "Joseph [son of Rachel and Jacob] saw Ephraim's children of the third generation; the children of Machir son of Manasseh were also born on Joseph's knees" (Genesis 50:23). Joseph's hands were open and ready to receive the newborn Jesus. His heart was open and ready to receive him as a son.
Emmanuel
Emmanuel is the Greek spelling of the Hebrew word, Immanuel.
Immanuel occurs only twice in the Old Testament. The first instance is the Isaiah 7:14 passage quoted by Matthew. The second, Isaiah 8:8: "[I]t will sweep on into Judah as a flood, and, pouring over, it will reach up to the neck; and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel."
Fulfill
To fulfill means to accomplish, achieve, complete, finish, or realize. The writer of Matthew emphasized Jesus as the fulfiller of Old Testament Law and the Prophets. "All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet" (Matthew 1:22). Events surrounding the nativity fulfilled the prophecy: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14).
How do we know if this is fulfillment or adjusted hindsight for justification or wishful thinking? How does God's purpose for us unfold? Do we eventually make sense of it as our lives unfold? Does comprehending God's purpose happen in a flash or as a gradual revelation? Does maturity alone strengthen our ability to fulfill God's plan for us?
Does God, by definition, have plans for everyone? That is, did God create us with something in mind? Our freedom means we can choose either to ignore God's nudges or to pay attention to them. Our freedom means missing the point sometimes. When we fulfill a commitment or complete an obligation, we feel the fullness and satisfaction of life.
Which fulfilled plans are of our design and which are God's? Place of birth, heredity, the social circumstances, a single parent or two--parent family, education - on and on, these conditions influence fulfillment.
What if Mary had gone into hiding? What if she and Joseph had run away? Would God have found them? By choice, God is in partnership, in a covenant with us. It takes a while to realize that God is with us always - whether we are aware of God's presence or not, whether we ignore the signs or heed them. What was given birth that night? An idea? What does Jesus represent?
What about preordination? It depends upon how one understands God. Our understanding of God can mature as we mature. We also can cease to grow spiritually just as easily as we can stop intellectual growth. How free are we to decide our own future?
Are the unexpected events that change life direction from God, too? Do God's plans evolve as our lives unfold? How in charge of our lives is God? Can we blame/praise God for everything? Where does personal responsibility enter? If taken seriously, the birth of Jesus requires much of us. What about the birth of any child? What is born in the birth of any child? Mary had nine months and then a lifetime to ponder these universal questions. So do we.
Joseph, Lifemate Of Mary
The husband of the mother of Jesus receives mention only a few times. Matthew 1:19 describes Joseph as a just man who followed the standards of the law. He was a person of fine character. The two genealogies of Joseph tracing his descent through David reveal that Jesus belonged to the Davidic line. (See Matthew 1:2--16 and Luke 3:23--38.) While Joseph was not Jesus' actual father, he was his legal father. Joseph appears uniformly as the father or foster father of Jesus. Mention of him stops early in the gospel narratives. Scholars have inferred that Joseph died before Jesus' ministry began.
Mary, Mother Of Jesus
Who is Mary? While Mary primarily may have been a vehicle for God's sending of Jesus into the world, she had a personality of her own. According to the writer of Luke, after initial questioning, Mary heard out Gabriel and accepted with grace what was to happen. Then she hurried to Elizabeth, her close friend, confidant, and relative. (See Luke 1:38, 39.) When the shepherds visiting the manger relayed what they had learned about the birth, Mary "treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19).
As Jesus' life unfolded, Mary's character continued to emerge. In the temple, Mary listened to Simeon's words of blessing and destiny for her son. She and Joseph "were amazed at what was being said about [Jesus]" (Luke 2:33). (See also Luke 2:25--34.) When Jesus was twelve and became separated from his parents during the Passover festival, Mary again listened. She "treasured all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:51b).
Virgin Birth
The doctrine of the virgin birth accepts that Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin mother. People of Old Testament times held some understanding of the processes of conception and pregnancy. However, they generally thought that only the seed of the male counted in conception and gestation. The woman provided in her womb the receptacle for its protection and growth.2
Scholars have pointed out that this idea of the life--giving and creative power of the Holy Spirit is new and without parallel in Jewish thought.3
Virginity
According to Genesis 24:16, a virgin is a girl "whom no man ha[s] known." She has had no sexual intercourse but has arrived at the age when she is capable of it.
People of the Old Testament took seriously a woman's virginity. Both family and society valued a virgin as a producer of children, particularly sons who could carry on the father's name. To carry on the line of Abraham, the story of Isaac's marriage stresses Rebekah's virginity. (See Genesis 24:16.) Virgins were so important to the life of a community that, although conquerors killed other women, they let virgins live. (See Numbers 31:17--18.)
Several Old Testament traditions suggest a young woman's clothing might show that she was a virgin. When Ammon raped his virgin sister Tamar, the writer says, the woman was wearing "a long robe with sleeves" as virgin daughters of the king wore. (See 2 Samuel 13:2--19.)
The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible refers to the historian Josephus. He wrote that virgins in ancient times wore loose coats tied at the hands and reaching down to the ankles. This prevented viewing their long, tight--fitting inner garment.4 The veil may also have identified a virgin. The virgin Rebekah covered herself upon seeing Isaac. She may have been respecting the custom forbidding a woman to show her face to a stranger.
Proof of virginity could be demanded before the consummation of a marriage. As further evidence of the lesser status of a woman, the elders of the town spread apart her garments and examined her. If a daughter's virginity were lost, the offender had to marry her and pay the father the marriage price. If the father refused to give him his daughter, then the father had to pay to the man a bride--price equal to the marriage price. (See Exodus 22:16--17.)
If a man falsely swore that his bride was not a virgin, he had to pay the father and marry the woman because he had stained her name. If the charges were true, the men of the town stoned the daughter in front of her father's house. (See Deuteronomy 22:19ff.) It was the parents' duty to protect their daughter's virginity. If a problem arose, the father received monetary compensation.
5. Gospel Parallels
Introduction
The writer of Matthew introduces this Gospel's focus, fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. In the first chapter, he establishes Jesus' lineage. Then he quotes Isaiah 7:14. The emphasis of this narrative favors Joseph by clarifying his role in the relationship. Further, the writer of the Matthew version defines "Emman--uel" as "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).
Telling the story more personally than Matthew, the writer of Luke begins with the angel. He establishes that Gabriel is related to God: "[T]he angel Gabriel was sent by God" (Luke 1:26). While Matthew brings the reader closer to Joseph, Luke draws the reader to Mary.
Joseph
The writer of Matthew gives Joseph a key role. His name occurs four times. First, he establishes the relationship between Joseph and Mary: "Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together" (Matthew 1:18). Second, he speaks of Joseph's character: "Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose [Mary] to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly" (Matthew 1:19). Third, just as Joseph "resolved to do this," an angel offers him reassurance in a dream. The angel calls Joseph by name. (See Matthew 1:20.) Fourth, in the final paragraph, Matthew relates the actions of Joseph. (1) Joseph awakes and, following the angel's commands, (2) marries Mary, (3) has no marital relations with her until she has given birth, and (4) names the baby Jesus. (See Matthew 1:24--25.)
Mary
The writer of Matthew gives Mary little individual identity. He mentions her name twice. First, the writer identifies her as "[Jesus'] mother Mary" (Matthew 1:18). Matthew speaks her name again through the voice of the angel instructing Joseph to "take Mary as [his] wife" (Matthew 1:20). Matthew uses passive language to describe Mary's pregnancy: "[S]he was found to be with child." Matthew clears Mary and Joseph from wrongdoing. The baby is "from the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:18). The writer avoids saying that Mary and Joseph decided to get married. He reports that "[Joseph] took her as his wife" (Matthew 1:24).
The compassionate writer of Luke's narrative devotes the conversation to Gabriel's seeing that Mary is as comfortable as possible about her circumstances. (See "Angel" below.) Mary's words of acceptance: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (Luke 1:38) are as important as Gabriel's words, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28).
Virgin
The opening sentence, "Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together," implies Mary's virginity (Matthew 1:18). Only halfway through the story does the writer or translator of Matthew explicitly use the term "virgin." Toward the end of the story, Matthew uses "virgin" when recalling Isaiah's words: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, 'God is with us'" (Matthew 1:23). Note that the translation of Isaiah's actual words differs slightly: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). The RSV and NRSV from Isaiah say "young woman," whereas the Matthew quotation of Isaiah 7:14 says "virgin." Isaiah uses the Hebrew "Immanuel" while Matthew uses the Greek spelling. Matthew defines the name. The prophet's words offer a prefatory explanation that what is to come is a sign from God.
The writer of Luke uses "virgin" three times, twice in the first paragraph: "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary" (Luke 1:26--27). Later, Mary calls herself a virgin: "Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin?' " (Luke 1:34).
Angel
The writer of Matthew does not name the angel but says the angel is "an angel of the Lord" (Matthew 1:20). The angel, who comes to Joseph "in a dream" speaks only once. In Luke, the compassionate Gabriel comes to Mary. The writer does not reveal how Gabriel shows himself to Mary; however Luke uses ten verses to tell their conversation (Luke 1:28--38). God sends the angel to Mary. The angel greets Mary as "favored one" and tells her that "the Lord is with [her]." The greeting is so warmhearted that Mary wonders what is happening. (See Luke 1:28,29.) Telling her not to be afraid, the angel repeats that she is "favored."
The angel who visits Joseph in Matthew's Gospel confirms that the child is from the Holy Spirit. The angel says it will be a boy and that Joseph is to name him Jesus. (See Matthew 1:20,21.) Gabriel tells Mary, "[Y]ou will conceive," will "bear a son, and you will name him Jesus" (Luke 1:31). (See also Luke 2:21.) "After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb."
The angel tells Joseph the child's name is Jesus "for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Gabriel announces Jesus' parentage. He tells Mary, "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:32--33).
Mary questions the conception. She says she is a virgin. Gabriel tells her that the Holy Spirit "will come upon" her "and the power of the Most High will overshadow her." "[T]herefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God" (Luke 1:35).
Gabriel also announces that Mary's barren relative, Elizabeth, is pregnant. (See Luke 1:36.) Gabriel adds, "For nothing will be impossible with God" (Luke 1:37).
Only after Mary tells Gabriel that she accepts these announcements does Gabriel depart from her (Luke 1:38).
____________
1. See George A. Buttrick, Ed., The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 2 (Nashville:Abingdon Press, 1962).
2. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 1.
3. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 1.
4. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 4.
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this
way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.18 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.19 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the
child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.20 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 21
All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by
the Lord through the prophet:22 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us."23
When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,24 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.25
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
Mary finds she is with child from the Holy Spirit.
Second Point Of Action
Joseph plans to dismiss Mary quietly.
Third Point Of Action
An angel talks to Joseph in a dream.
Fourth Point Of Action
This fulfills the Isaiah 7:14 passage about a virgin conceiving and bearing a son to be named Emmanuel, "God with us."
Fifth Point Of Action
Joseph awakes and obeys the angel. He marries Mary but withholds marital relations until she bears the baby. Joseph names the baby Jesus.
3. Connecting Points - Conversations
Interviewing The Angel
Asker: Why did you come to Joseph rather than to Mary?
Angel: Had Joseph not understood, he could have turned the situation into chaos. We had to put this birth into perspective before we lost Joseph. Remember that the angel Gabriel appeared to the priest Zechariah when he and Elizabeth were to conceive.
First, I addressed Joseph as "son of David." Joseph and his kin had heard about the great--grandson of Ruth and Boaz all their lives. Stories about King David filled Old Testament history books and books of the prophets. Stories about this hero abounded. They ranged from Samuel's anointment of this youngest, shepherd son of Jesse to David and Jonathan's boyhood friendship and David's bravery with Goliath. Joseph and his family grew up with David's Psalms and still sang them. They followed King David through his adult life.
From the day Samuel anointed David, the spirit of the Lord came upon David. When Joseph remembered his ancestry, he would understand his heritage. When I told him that the child conceived in Mary was from the Holy Spirit, he would understand "God is with us." His thoughts about quietly dismissing Mary would vanish.
Asker: You gave Joseph many directions.
Angel: Clear guidance was God's way of being also with Joseph. As God's messenger, I would not desert Joseph. Neither would the angel Gabriel leave Mary until she understood this conception and birth.
Asker: Gabriel told Mary she would name the baby Jesus. You said Joseph would name him.
Angel: Matthew told the story from Joseph's viewpoint. Gabriel and I agreed about the name.
Asker: Why was he called Jesus when the name was Emmanuel?
Angel: Spelled with either an "E" or an "I," Emmanuel is a symbolic name from the Old Testament. It means "God is with us." Jesus is the personal name. Although this common name was not reserved for Jesus of Nazareth, it has a special meaning. The original Hebrew form of "Jesus" is Joshua or Yehoshuah, which means "Yahweh [or God] saves."1 Thus, I told Joseph that Jesus would save his people from their sins.
Interviewing Joseph
Asker: Joseph, you could have insisted that Mary be examined by the elders of your town.
Joseph: One would only do that in the absence of love. My concern was for Mary. You must understand that I did not doubt her. However this conception happened, her entire future rested on the outcome. If I pressed her father and if she were publicly disgraced as having committed adultery, her life would be over.
Asker: Your love was not truant.
Joseph: We were betrothed. We promised each other. Mary had not yet come into my household. That would happen with our wedding. We had not lived together yet, but we held the commitment of marriage.
Asker: Joseph, life is so different now where I live. Many couples try out marriage before their wedding. Have they no confidence in their ability to grow a marriage? Do they think only of avoiding divorce payments? Do they fear the commitment?
Joseph: The values are still the same somewhere in their hearts. People of my day did not face such illnesses as HIV and AIDS, but commitment was also scary for us. We did not live in an economy that demanded two incomes, brought constant mental and physical exhaustion, badgered with the false satisfaction of acquiring things, or excused the abandonment of relationships. But we had our turmoil. We also showed irresponsible behavior.
Asker: Sometimes I think few people grasp commitment.
Joseph: Becoming responsible is seldom the result of invitation. Acting responsibly can as readily be an accidental choice under pressure as a gracious decision. Remember, at first I planned to dismiss Mary quietly. From the time I learned that she was with child until after the angel dream, my commitment grew from practical action to feeling a new admiration for Mary.
Asker: Joseph, why did God choose you?
Joseph: Before I try to respond, I must speak of my choices. Jesus would be a newborn. He would be a little boy, a youngster, and then a youth. He would need an earthly father's guidance. I loved him because I love Mary. I loved him because I love God.
Asker: You were willing to take Jesus into your family and raise him as your own. As a pre--adoptive parent, I recall intensive screening before I was assessed as adequate to receive a child. How different and deliberate that was from the surprising, yet welcome, birth of our second child.
Joseph: Each way of becoming a parent - by birth or by adoption - holds a singular form of apprehension. You might say I was a foster parent or an adoptive parent. One named Paul, who lived years after I, saw us all as God's adopted children. God sends certain people into our lives to look after us. God did the same for Jesus. I wonder if that angel God sent were not screening me for fatherhood the entire time she was giving me instructions. As I lived out their consequences, I reached a fuller understanding of my earlier choices.
Interviewing Mary
Asker: Mary, what little we know about you is colored by Luke's telling and by our own imagination. In Matthew's version of the story you did not say a word.
Mary: That confirms that the writer was a man! The rendering was appropriate. Though Joseph and I shared our hearts, women of my day had few words except among those close to them. Elizabeth and I spoke many words to each other.
Asker: Women in other miracle stories spoke up. Look at the woman whose daughter was possessed by a demon.
Mary: Those women were involved in healing relationships with Jesus. I was in a different, precarious situation. My integrity was in question. I am one, however, who ponders. This was to be an unusual birth. In the silence, I reached understanding.
Asker: I need to ask aloud, at least to phrase the question. Do I need to believe in the virgin birth to be a Christian?
Mary: Miracles need a faithful leap. Sometimes we become lost among the words. You may know that in our translations "virgin" means a young woman of marriageable age or one who has not yet intimately known a man.
Asker: Then was this the way storytellers told us Jesus' birth was unique? What would you have us know, Mary, about you and this wonder--filled birth?
Mary: Some have said the issue of my virginity was dominant. Questions overshadowed everything before our conversations with the angels. Of course, Joseph and I puzzled. For the marriage customs of my time, it was important to establish that I had not been unfaithful to Joseph.
Asker: If Joseph were not the biological father, then someone had to be. Boys and girls know that.
Mary: Unless the conception were a miracle. Gabriel told me Jesus would be called the "Son of God." I keep hearing Gabriel's other words, "For nothing is impossible with God."
Asker: Did you feel used as a vehicle for the birth of Jesus?
Mary: When I visited Elizabeth, we compared notes. Gabriel, who stood in the presence of God, had told Zechariah that their son John also was to be filled with the Holy Spirit. If Elizabeth, barren for so many years, had not also conceived - well, that gave me courage. Truly, nothing is impossible with God. Though this was virgin territory for me, I was not in this wilderness alone. I was part of a greater plan. Acceptance brought tremendous relief. My soul burst into David's song. My soul magnified the Lord. My spirit rejoiced.
Asker: You relaxed and let it happen.
Mary: Joseph and I relaxed and let it happen. We raised Jesus as our son while knowing him to be God's Son.
Asker: Mary, why did God choose you to be the mother of this child?
Mary: I wonder if every mother asks God that. I do not know. I believe each parent is special. Each child is God's unique son or daughter. Every family is a holy family. God has plans for each of us.
Asker: Could you have turned down God?
Mary: I am convinced that is why God sent the angel to Joseph. Joseph would have offered more resistance than I. However, you raise an intriguing question. I wonder if another young woman had refused God. How many had God approached before finding me? Did God always have me in mind? When God has something in mind for us, no matter how many ways we try to avoid the message, we keep feeling the nudge until we respond. On the other hand, I believe also that God does not present an idea to us until we give some sign that we are ready.
Asker: Gabriel caused Zechariah to be mute until John's birth because Zechariah had doubted his words.
Mary: When I questioned Gabriel, he gave me no trouble. I did not want anything to prevent my marriage to Joseph. I could not guess how much my life would change. Gabriel kept talking until I understood and assented. He told me from the start not to be afraid. That helped me listen. Equally miraculous here was the timing of my readiness. You know how open, how full and creative a woman feels during her engagement. It is a healthy, highly productive time in her life. Her whole self is pregnant with possibility. She is ripe and fruitful. No wonder God chose this unusual birth of an unusual infant as the vehicle for new creation.
4. Words
Angel
Throughout Jesus' earthly life, God provided the guidance of angels. An angel appeared as a herald of special births. An angel heartened Mary while announcing the conception of the holy child (Luke 1:30ff). An interpreting angel stood before the shepherds the night of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:9ff). The angel appeared to Joseph in the first dream. It warned him of Herod's plan to kill Jesus. Later, it told Joseph to take the family to Egypt (Matthew 2:13). Later, an angel said Herod was dead and they should return to Israel (Matthew 2:19--20).
After the devil tempted Jesus, angels looked after him (Matthew 4:11). When Jesus prayed at the Mount of Olives, an angel strengthened him (Luke 22:43). When Jesus told the people it was time for the Son of Man to be glorified, some heard only thunder. Others said it was an angel (John 12:23ff). An angel was at the resurrection tomb (Matthew 28:2ff). For a fuller discussion of angels, see Cycle A, Miracle 4, "Resurrection."
Betrothal/Marriage
Except for residence in the bridegroom's home, betrothal equaled marriage. The bride used this year to collect her trousseau and property. The groom was exempt from military service for the year. (See Deuteronomy 20:7.)
In early Old Testament times, betrothal involved paying the bride's father a compensatory marriage gift and presenting gifts to the prospective bride. (See Genesis 34:12, 1 Samuel 18:25, Exodus 22:16--17, Exodus 34:12, and Ruth 4:5, 10.) The man made a declaration to the prospective bride, accompanied by a small gift, in the presence of two witnesses, or delivered to her a written declaration.
The marriage was complete after a marriage feast of joyous celebration. The couple could not live together as husband and wife until after this ceremony. They nevertheless were considered husband and wife from betrothal. The woman was regarded as a widow if her husband died. An engagement could be canceled after betrothal only by a letter of divorce and dowry payment. Hebrew law also provided for a refund with twenty percent interest if the betrothed virgin died before the consummation of marriage.
Birth
In Old Testament days, many births were desired because of the importance of large families. There was some understanding of the processes of conception and pregnancy, as well as birth. It was thought then that only the seed of the male was necessary in conception and gestation. The woman provided in her womb a holder for its protection and growth. Then, as now, the mystery of life at birth was a matter of awe and wonder: "Just as you do not know how the breath comes to the bones in the mother's womb, so you do not know the work of God, who makes everything" (Ecclesiastes 11:5).
If the child were a boy, the mother was considered ceremonially unclean for seven days; but if the child were a girl, the mother was deemed unclean for fourteen days. Were the child a girl, the mother's cleansing process continued an additional 66 days. During this time, she could not touch any holy thing or come into the sanctuary. (See Leviticus 12:1--8.) Coincidentally, these days gave the new mother time by herself to recover from the pregnancy and birth and to focus on bonding with her infant. Compare this time set aside for mother/baby bonding with parenting/pregnancy leave in present society.
Compare Joseph's role in the birthing process with the father's presence and participation in today's birthing rooms. In Old Testament times, a child was born literally to the father, who received the child on his knees: "Joseph [son of Rachel and Jacob] saw Ephraim's children of the third generation; the children of Machir son of Manasseh were also born on Joseph's knees" (Genesis 50:23). Joseph's hands were open and ready to receive the newborn Jesus. His heart was open and ready to receive him as a son.
Emmanuel
Emmanuel is the Greek spelling of the Hebrew word, Immanuel.
Immanuel occurs only twice in the Old Testament. The first instance is the Isaiah 7:14 passage quoted by Matthew. The second, Isaiah 8:8: "[I]t will sweep on into Judah as a flood, and, pouring over, it will reach up to the neck; and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel."
Fulfill
To fulfill means to accomplish, achieve, complete, finish, or realize. The writer of Matthew emphasized Jesus as the fulfiller of Old Testament Law and the Prophets. "All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet" (Matthew 1:22). Events surrounding the nativity fulfilled the prophecy: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14).
How do we know if this is fulfillment or adjusted hindsight for justification or wishful thinking? How does God's purpose for us unfold? Do we eventually make sense of it as our lives unfold? Does comprehending God's purpose happen in a flash or as a gradual revelation? Does maturity alone strengthen our ability to fulfill God's plan for us?
Does God, by definition, have plans for everyone? That is, did God create us with something in mind? Our freedom means we can choose either to ignore God's nudges or to pay attention to them. Our freedom means missing the point sometimes. When we fulfill a commitment or complete an obligation, we feel the fullness and satisfaction of life.
Which fulfilled plans are of our design and which are God's? Place of birth, heredity, the social circumstances, a single parent or two--parent family, education - on and on, these conditions influence fulfillment.
What if Mary had gone into hiding? What if she and Joseph had run away? Would God have found them? By choice, God is in partnership, in a covenant with us. It takes a while to realize that God is with us always - whether we are aware of God's presence or not, whether we ignore the signs or heed them. What was given birth that night? An idea? What does Jesus represent?
What about preordination? It depends upon how one understands God. Our understanding of God can mature as we mature. We also can cease to grow spiritually just as easily as we can stop intellectual growth. How free are we to decide our own future?
Are the unexpected events that change life direction from God, too? Do God's plans evolve as our lives unfold? How in charge of our lives is God? Can we blame/praise God for everything? Where does personal responsibility enter? If taken seriously, the birth of Jesus requires much of us. What about the birth of any child? What is born in the birth of any child? Mary had nine months and then a lifetime to ponder these universal questions. So do we.
Joseph, Lifemate Of Mary
The husband of the mother of Jesus receives mention only a few times. Matthew 1:19 describes Joseph as a just man who followed the standards of the law. He was a person of fine character. The two genealogies of Joseph tracing his descent through David reveal that Jesus belonged to the Davidic line. (See Matthew 1:2--16 and Luke 3:23--38.) While Joseph was not Jesus' actual father, he was his legal father. Joseph appears uniformly as the father or foster father of Jesus. Mention of him stops early in the gospel narratives. Scholars have inferred that Joseph died before Jesus' ministry began.
Mary, Mother Of Jesus
Who is Mary? While Mary primarily may have been a vehicle for God's sending of Jesus into the world, she had a personality of her own. According to the writer of Luke, after initial questioning, Mary heard out Gabriel and accepted with grace what was to happen. Then she hurried to Elizabeth, her close friend, confidant, and relative. (See Luke 1:38, 39.) When the shepherds visiting the manger relayed what they had learned about the birth, Mary "treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart" (Luke 2:19).
As Jesus' life unfolded, Mary's character continued to emerge. In the temple, Mary listened to Simeon's words of blessing and destiny for her son. She and Joseph "were amazed at what was being said about [Jesus]" (Luke 2:33). (See also Luke 2:25--34.) When Jesus was twelve and became separated from his parents during the Passover festival, Mary again listened. She "treasured all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:51b).
Virgin Birth
The doctrine of the virgin birth accepts that Jesus was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin mother. People of Old Testament times held some understanding of the processes of conception and pregnancy. However, they generally thought that only the seed of the male counted in conception and gestation. The woman provided in her womb the receptacle for its protection and growth.2
Scholars have pointed out that this idea of the life--giving and creative power of the Holy Spirit is new and without parallel in Jewish thought.3
Virginity
According to Genesis 24:16, a virgin is a girl "whom no man ha[s] known." She has had no sexual intercourse but has arrived at the age when she is capable of it.
People of the Old Testament took seriously a woman's virginity. Both family and society valued a virgin as a producer of children, particularly sons who could carry on the father's name. To carry on the line of Abraham, the story of Isaac's marriage stresses Rebekah's virginity. (See Genesis 24:16.) Virgins were so important to the life of a community that, although conquerors killed other women, they let virgins live. (See Numbers 31:17--18.)
Several Old Testament traditions suggest a young woman's clothing might show that she was a virgin. When Ammon raped his virgin sister Tamar, the writer says, the woman was wearing "a long robe with sleeves" as virgin daughters of the king wore. (See 2 Samuel 13:2--19.)
The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible refers to the historian Josephus. He wrote that virgins in ancient times wore loose coats tied at the hands and reaching down to the ankles. This prevented viewing their long, tight--fitting inner garment.4 The veil may also have identified a virgin. The virgin Rebekah covered herself upon seeing Isaac. She may have been respecting the custom forbidding a woman to show her face to a stranger.
Proof of virginity could be demanded before the consummation of a marriage. As further evidence of the lesser status of a woman, the elders of the town spread apart her garments and examined her. If a daughter's virginity were lost, the offender had to marry her and pay the father the marriage price. If the father refused to give him his daughter, then the father had to pay to the man a bride--price equal to the marriage price. (See Exodus 22:16--17.)
If a man falsely swore that his bride was not a virgin, he had to pay the father and marry the woman because he had stained her name. If the charges were true, the men of the town stoned the daughter in front of her father's house. (See Deuteronomy 22:19ff.) It was the parents' duty to protect their daughter's virginity. If a problem arose, the father received monetary compensation.
5. Gospel Parallels
Introduction
The writer of Matthew introduces this Gospel's focus, fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. In the first chapter, he establishes Jesus' lineage. Then he quotes Isaiah 7:14. The emphasis of this narrative favors Joseph by clarifying his role in the relationship. Further, the writer of the Matthew version defines "Emman--uel" as "God with us" (Matthew 1:23).
Telling the story more personally than Matthew, the writer of Luke begins with the angel. He establishes that Gabriel is related to God: "[T]he angel Gabriel was sent by God" (Luke 1:26). While Matthew brings the reader closer to Joseph, Luke draws the reader to Mary.
Joseph
The writer of Matthew gives Joseph a key role. His name occurs four times. First, he establishes the relationship between Joseph and Mary: "Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together" (Matthew 1:18). Second, he speaks of Joseph's character: "Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose [Mary] to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly" (Matthew 1:19). Third, just as Joseph "resolved to do this," an angel offers him reassurance in a dream. The angel calls Joseph by name. (See Matthew 1:20.) Fourth, in the final paragraph, Matthew relates the actions of Joseph. (1) Joseph awakes and, following the angel's commands, (2) marries Mary, (3) has no marital relations with her until she has given birth, and (4) names the baby Jesus. (See Matthew 1:24--25.)
Mary
The writer of Matthew gives Mary little individual identity. He mentions her name twice. First, the writer identifies her as "[Jesus'] mother Mary" (Matthew 1:18). Matthew speaks her name again through the voice of the angel instructing Joseph to "take Mary as [his] wife" (Matthew 1:20). Matthew uses passive language to describe Mary's pregnancy: "[S]he was found to be with child." Matthew clears Mary and Joseph from wrongdoing. The baby is "from the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 1:18). The writer avoids saying that Mary and Joseph decided to get married. He reports that "[Joseph] took her as his wife" (Matthew 1:24).
The compassionate writer of Luke's narrative devotes the conversation to Gabriel's seeing that Mary is as comfortable as possible about her circumstances. (See "Angel" below.) Mary's words of acceptance: "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word" (Luke 1:38) are as important as Gabriel's words, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you" (Luke 1:28).
Virgin
The opening sentence, "Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together," implies Mary's virginity (Matthew 1:18). Only halfway through the story does the writer or translator of Matthew explicitly use the term "virgin." Toward the end of the story, Matthew uses "virgin" when recalling Isaiah's words: "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, 'God is with us'" (Matthew 1:23). Note that the translation of Isaiah's actual words differs slightly: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). The RSV and NRSV from Isaiah say "young woman," whereas the Matthew quotation of Isaiah 7:14 says "virgin." Isaiah uses the Hebrew "Immanuel" while Matthew uses the Greek spelling. Matthew defines the name. The prophet's words offer a prefatory explanation that what is to come is a sign from God.
The writer of Luke uses "virgin" three times, twice in the first paragraph: "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary" (Luke 1:26--27). Later, Mary calls herself a virgin: "Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I am a virgin?' " (Luke 1:34).
Angel
The writer of Matthew does not name the angel but says the angel is "an angel of the Lord" (Matthew 1:20). The angel, who comes to Joseph "in a dream" speaks only once. In Luke, the compassionate Gabriel comes to Mary. The writer does not reveal how Gabriel shows himself to Mary; however Luke uses ten verses to tell their conversation (Luke 1:28--38). God sends the angel to Mary. The angel greets Mary as "favored one" and tells her that "the Lord is with [her]." The greeting is so warmhearted that Mary wonders what is happening. (See Luke 1:28,29.) Telling her not to be afraid, the angel repeats that she is "favored."
The angel who visits Joseph in Matthew's Gospel confirms that the child is from the Holy Spirit. The angel says it will be a boy and that Joseph is to name him Jesus. (See Matthew 1:20,21.) Gabriel tells Mary, "[Y]ou will conceive," will "bear a son, and you will name him Jesus" (Luke 1:31). (See also Luke 2:21.) "After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb."
The angel tells Joseph the child's name is Jesus "for he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Gabriel announces Jesus' parentage. He tells Mary, "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:32--33).
Mary questions the conception. She says she is a virgin. Gabriel tells her that the Holy Spirit "will come upon" her "and the power of the Most High will overshadow her." "[T]herefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God" (Luke 1:35).
Gabriel also announces that Mary's barren relative, Elizabeth, is pregnant. (See Luke 1:36.) Gabriel adds, "For nothing will be impossible with God" (Luke 1:37).
Only after Mary tells Gabriel that she accepts these announcements does Gabriel depart from her (Luke 1:38).
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1. See George A. Buttrick, Ed., The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 2 (Nashville:Abingdon Press, 1962).
2. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 1.
3. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 1.
4. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 4.
